


we live in cities you'll never see on screen

by thequeenofokay



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-17
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-03-07 23:49:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3187868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequeenofokay/pseuds/thequeenofokay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>‘Are you lost?’ she asks, and it comes out a little biting, which is probably not the best thing way to speak to her boss.</p>
<p>‘Is this the IT department?’ he asks. He looks a little uncomfortable, hands in the pockets of his suit.</p>
<p>// boss+intern au. or maybe an arrow au. raina's boss keeps asking for favours.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we live in cities you'll never see on screen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> \+ for the prompt "boss/intern au" but it slightly turned into an arrow au?? idk i don't even watch arrow properly but now i love this verse and my baby sister tells me i gotta write a sequel. so.
> 
> \+ title from "team" by lorde.

Raina takes the internship at Ward Worldwide when she can’t find anything else that will do. It’s paid, and better than bar work, anyway.

She takes it a week before the middle Ward son reappears after years, only to confirm that his parents and older brother are dead.

She knows he’s taken control of his family’s company again, but she’s never seen him in the flesh. She is, after all, a lowly little intern in the IT department.

She’s been there a month when he turns up at her desk.

She looks up at him. She is not a little starstruck. She’s not. He’s just someone with probably more money than he deserves.

‘Are you lost?’ she asks, and it comes out a little biting, which is probably not the best thing way to speak to her boss.

‘Is this the IT department?’ he asks. He looks a little uncomfortable, hands in the pockets of his suit.

It’s a nice suit. Looks good on him.

She’s not sure if that’s an appropriate thought to be having.

‘Yes,’ she says. ‘This is the IT department. Can we help you?’

‘My laptop broke. I need some information recovered,’ he says.

‘I can do that,’ she says. ‘I’m just the intern, but I should be able to do it. Do you have it with you?’

He nods, setting it down on the table.

She stares at it. ‘Mr Ward?’ she asks. ‘This laptop has been stabbed.’

He frowns, brow furrowing. ‘Yes,’ he says.

She’s pretty sure this isn’t actually in her job description. But he could probably fire her if she says no. ‘Absolutely,’ she says. ‘I’ll try my best.’

‘Thank you,’ he says, and it sounds… genuine? Sweet?

He waits.

‘ _Oh_ ,’ she says, ‘you want me to do it now?’

‘It’s a little time sensitive,’ he says. ‘If you have time.’

She looks around the almost empty department. ‘I think I can manage,’ she says.

  
  


 

He turns up again in the IT department a week later, with a tall blond woman that Raina recognises vaguely.

She looks up from the article she’d been reading on the vigilante that’s suddenly turned up in the city. They sound a little reckless, in her opinion.

‘Sorry to bother you,’ he says. ‘We were wondering if you could find someone for us.’

She wonders if this is going to become a  _thing_  -- him coming down asking for favours. She’s also not sure how she feels about it becoming a thing. 

She certainly doesn’t mind his company.

‘Of course,’ she says. ‘How can I help?’

‘We were looking for the address of a friend of Bobbi’s,’ he says. He gestures to the woman with him. ‘Bobbi’s my… driver?’

‘ _Babysitter_ ,’ Bobbi says. ‘I’m his babysitter.’

Raina looks between the two of them. ‘What’s your friend’s name?’ she asks.

‘Akela,’ Bobbi says. ‘Akela Amador?’ She looks over at Grant for confirmation, and he nods.

Raina knows something is going on, but she doesn’t question it.

‘Your… friend,’ she says, ‘dropped off the grid a few years ago. She was presumed dead.’

‘Oh,’ Grant says. He frowns, moving to stand behind her shoulder so he can see the screen. ‘Has she been spotted since?’

She’s not sure she wants him standing right behind her, because the way to find Amador isn’t exactly  _legal_. She’s also not sure Grant can tell. ‘Just yesterday,’ Raina says. ‘Here’s the address.’

Grant nods. ‘That’s great,’ he says. ‘Thanks.’

‘This doesn’t have anything to do with that bank robbery, does it?’ she asks, as they leave. ‘That address is only a few streets away.’

Bobbi laughs, and Grant shakes his head.

‘Definitely not,’ Bobbi says.

  
  


 

(Raina is right. It becomes a  _thing_. He keeps finding her with strange requests, occasionally looking a little worse for wear.

She doesn’t ask, more because she doesn’t think he’d tell than because it isn’t her place.

And it turns out she really doesn’t mind his visits.)

  
  


 

She knows something is wrong the second she gets into her apartment. She’s not sure what it is, but she knows.

She closes the door behind her, and there’s a little groan from the sofa.

She freezes.

‘Raina,’ the person on her sofa says, a little strained.

It sounds a lot like Ward. Which is stupid.

She turns on the light, and sure enough, Grant Ward is lying on her sofa. He’s in full black, a gun lying on her table, and he’s clutching his side, wincing.

‘Sorry,’ he says, when she doesn’t move. ‘Do you have any… bandages? Painkillers?’

She doesn’t want to admit it’s the thought of him injured that spurs her into action, but it is. She drops her bag and grabs her first aid kit from the cupboard.

He pulls up his shirt so that she can see his wound. It’s bloody and looks painful, but she’s never been the squeamish type.

‘This is from a bullet,’ she says. ‘You should be going to hospital.’

He shakes his head. ‘No,’ he says. ‘It’s fine. I just need you to patch it up.’

‘I’m not a doctor,’ she protests, but she’s pulling out a wipe to clean away the blood anyway.

‘Don’t worry,’ he says. ‘I trust you.’

She sighs, unravelling the roll of bandage. ‘I know you’re the vigilante,’ she says.

He laughs, but it sounds more like a cough. ‘Before I turned up in your apartment, you mean?’ he asks.

‘I suspected,’ she says, with a little shrug.

‘You’re observant,’ he says. He glances down at his side as she finishes bandaging it up.

‘Or you’re just not good at secrets,’ she retorts.

He laughs again, and she wishes he wouldn’t, because as sweet as it is, it looks painful. ‘Maybe,’ he says. ‘But like I said, I trust you. I trust you to keep my secret.’

  
  


 

She gets called up to his office the next day. He’s leaning against his desk, and Bobbi is standing behind him.

‘I want to give you a promotion,’ he says.

‘Is this because you feel bad about getting blood on my white sofa?’ she asks.

Bobbi gives him a look of disapproval, and he ducks his head, looking a little sheepish. ‘No,’ he says. ‘But I’ll buy you a new one. I’ve promoted you to my executive assistant.’

She raises her eyebrows. ‘That sounds a lot like a secretary,’ she says. ‘And I’m far overqualified to be a secretary.’

‘You’re far overqualified to be an  _intern_ ,’ he says. ‘Please, just let me do this.’

She considers, head tilted. ‘It’s because you want me to help you both out with your superhero stuff.’

‘I want you near,’ he says. Bobbi snorts, and he turns to frown at her. ‘Yes, so you can  _help_  us.’

‘Okay,’ Raina says. The idea of helping to save her city is, she's not going to lie, exciting. ‘I’ll do it. But I get a pay raise, yes?’

‘Of course,’ he says. He’d probably give her whatever she asked for.

‘And I’m  _not_  your secretary,’ she says firmly. ‘I’m not going to be taking memos for you.’

He looks a little appalled at the idea. ‘Never,’ he says. ‘You can work on whatever projects you want when I don’t need you.’

Honestly, she feels like she’s got a pretty good deal out of this.


End file.
